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Colorado football: Buffs will have hands full with Oregon State's offense

By Brian Howell Buffzone.com

Posted:
09/25/2013 05:20:44 PM MDT

Updated:
09/25/2013 11:07:10 PM MDT

The numbers that Oregon State quarterback Sean Mannion and his receivers have produced this year are impressive.

Whether Colorado (2-0) can be the first team to slow the Beavers (3-1, 1-0 Pac-12) down remains to be seen, but junior cornerback Greg Henderson is excited for the opportunity. CU visits OSU on Saturday at 1 p.m.

"I always like going up against really good competition," Henderson said. "If you do good, it gets your name out there.

"It's going to be a good challenge this week."

Mannion leads the country in passing yards (1,604) and passing touchdowns (15). Brandin Cooks leads the country in receptions (43), yards (639) and receiving touchdowns (seven).

Oregon State quarterback Sean Mannion has been sacked only four times this season.
(Alex Gallardo)

"He's a good route runner," Henderson said of Cooks, who had 1,151 receiving yards a year ago. "He's quick, as well and he has good speed. We just have to have sound technique with him and you have to be real aggressive with him. If you get all up in him, I feel like it'll affect his timing and it'll affect his play."

Cooks isn't the only weapon Mannion has, though. Richard Mullaney has caught 22 passes for 244 yards and four other players have over 100 yards this season.

So far, Colorado has shown great improvement in its pass defense. Opposing quarterbacks have completed just 58.5 percent of their passes, way down from the 67.8 percent that the Buffs allowed in 2012.

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Oregon State offensive coordinator Danny Langsdorf has noticed the difference in the Buffs.

"I think they've playing very sound," he said. "They're in good position; they're not turning guys loose. They fly around and they've got a good defensive end in (Chidera Uzo-Diribe). Their secondary has been covering guys well and they've just done a nice job of getting themselves in position to be able to make a tackle."

This, however, should be CU's toughest test yet, and Henderson is looking forward to it.

"Pac-12 is always going to be known for good receivers," he said. "It's going to be a good test for us. I think we're up to the challenge. We've been looking good in practice. We just have to play hard and be confident in our game."

Improved Mannion

Mannion is a big reason the Beavers are doing so well on offense. Prior to this year, he had solid career numbers -- 64.6 completion percentage, 5,774 yards, 31 touchdowns, 31 interceptions -- but he has blown those numbers away. In four games this year, Mannion has completed 71.5 percent of his passes and thrown just one interception.

"He's been throwing a lot of nice throws and even thrown the ball away at times when we've needed to save a sack here and there," Langsdorf said. "He's really focused in on not trying to overdo it, or over-force throws. I think he's just done a better job of making good decisions."

Mannion has been sacked just four times, or once every 46.5 pass attempts.

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